Gardens and Chickens and Goats, Oh My!
Once again it is high summer and time for garden tours. Santa Feans have a selection of garden tours to choose from. Tours range from Behind Adobe Walls and the Botanical Gardens to gardens that are a bit more home grown. As our garden is relatively modest I find inspiration from similarly DIY gardens. Home Grown New Mexico held their 3rd annual Kitchen Garden & Coop Tour in Santa Fe on July 28. Once again I biked the garden tour (easier parking and just as fast as driving!), had a great time and narrowly escaped a drenching downpour.
Instead of providing an exhaustive account of the tour here are a few things that caught my attention:
- Gardening in the Southwest is (almost) all about water - and we still need much more rain water catchment capacity!
- Using raised beds and imported soil is a quick way to deal with soil problems (too sandy, too clayey, not enough organic matter, etc.).
- I envy the homes on a big lot, but I don't really want more weeds to pull.
- I envy the homes with huge, mature trees. "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago..."
- Goats are very cool, but I think I'll leave the livestock husbandry to others.
- If you have chickens, cover their run with wire mesh to keep out owls and hawks!
- If you have chickens, you're going to have mice too.
- There are a lot of gardeners in Santa Fe who are way more ambitious than I am!
"The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago, the second best time is now. Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree."
More Info:
HomeGrownNM - Kitchen Garden & Coop Tour
The Santa Fe Garden Club - Behind Adobe Walls Garden Tour
Santa Fe Botanical Gardens - Museum Hill Botanical Garden
Wikiquote - Trees
